September 2013

September 30, 2013

DALLAS -- For the first time ever, the NBA will host its annual All-Star Weekend outside of the United States.

And no one is happier than Dallas Mavericks point guard Jose Calderon.

The NBA announced Monday that the 2016 All-Star Weekend will be held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. That's good news for Calderon, who started his NBA career with Toronto in 2005 and played there until the Raptors traded him to the Detroit Pistons this past Jan. 30.

But despite departing Toronto, Calderon still has close ties to the city and knows Toronto deserves to host the NBA's mid-season classic.

"It's going to be great,'' Calderon said during Monday's Media Day at American Airlines Center. "Toronto, one thing I can say is we were in a good situation my first few years, a bad situationsometimes, but the fans were always there.''

DALLAS -- Dallas Mavericks superstar forward Dirk Nowitzki became a dad for the first time two months ago when his wife, Jessica, gave birth to a daughter name Malaika.

Thus, Nowitzki will be entering his first training camp Tuesday as a father. And he's certainly noticed the change.

"It's definitely different than the life before, but its been a blessing,'' Nowitzki said. "She’s a little over two months now.

"She's growing, she's healthy, so everything is going great. The nights are a little shorter than Iwas used to, but it’s going great and I can’t complain.’’

Asked if his daughter, born July 24, is a daddy’s baby, Nowitzki said: “Not really yet. I think that’s going to take some time. I don’t have (breast), so I can’t really help her that much yet, but hopefully in a couple of years.’’

DALLAS -- Whatever dreams the Dallas Mavericks want to realize this season, they know those dreams will turn into a nightmare if they don’t make some marked improvements on the defensive end of the court.

Last year the Mavs’ perimeter defense was just as bad as their interior defense. Opponents got to the rim at will, and scored at will.

That has to change, or else the Mavs may miss the playoffs for a second straight season.

“We have to establish ourselves as a solid defensive team,’’ coach Rick Carlisle said during Media Day on Monday. “We were OK last year, but we weren’t good enough.’’

The Mavs finished 27th among the 30 teams in points allowed last year after relinguishing 101.7 points per game. They also were 17th in defensive three-shoot field goal shooting (35.9 percent) and 12thin field goal shooting allowed (44.5 percent).

In addition, the Mavs grabbed just 41.9 rebounds per game, while their opponents nabbed 45.6 boards per contest. Overall, Carlisle knows none of the aforementioned numbers equate to a team preparing for a playoff run.

“It’s my responsibility to make sure our guys know how important it is,’’ Carlisle said, pointing to thedefense. “We’ll have to make the sacrifices necessary to do it.’’

Carslisle also knows the Mavs must find a way to successfully maneuver their way through pressure-cooker games. The Mavs failed miserably in that category last year when they dropped their first seven overtime games before finishing the season with a paltry 3-8 record in overtime games.

“Along with being better defensively and doing a better job rebounding the ball, we’ve got to do better in close games,’’ Carlisle said. “When you lose eight out of 11 overtime games like we did last year and lose the first seven in a row, you’re going to put yourself up against it, and we did.

“We were fighting out of a hole all year long. You’ve got to execute and you’ve got to perform in those situations.’’

DALLAS -- From high school to college, Shane Larkin always had to prove he was big enough, wise enough and talented enough to play basketball.

Now the Dallas Mavericks' rookie point guard has to prove himself -- again.

Drafted No. 18 overall out of Miami this past June, Larkin was all set to strut his stuff when the Mavs traveled to Las Vegas in July for summer league play. But on the day the Mavs were slated to leave for Vegas, Larkin unfortunately fractured his right ankle during a practice session at American Airlines Center.

Larkin underwent successful surgery on July 16 and was slated to be sidelined for approximately three months.

On Monday, the day before the Mavs opened training camp, Larkin said of his return: "It’s looking like I should be good to return in the middle of training camp, so we’ll just see what happens. There’s no positive (return) date, so we’ll see what happens.''

Whenever Larkin returns, the 5-11, 176-pounder knows he'll have to show he has the right stuff to perform at this level. Still, he can't help but recall the day he broke his ankle.

"Initially they thought it was just a high ankle sprain or a sprain,'' Larkin said. "To find out it was broken it was like you finally accomplish your dream, you finally make it to the NBA, you finally have that chance to prove yourself once again and you break your ankle.

"But it's just more of a bigger chip on my shoulder, more to prove. People wrote me off, people forgot about me, I have no chance, so back to square one, back to where I started out.''

DALLAS -- Dallas Mavericks guard Devin Harris said today that he will get the boot off his surgically repaired toe on Thursday. That's when the nine-year veteran will know how close he is to returning to the court.

"I feel fine,'' Harris said during Monday's Media Day at American Airlines Center. "But everything's on hold until Thursday.''

Harris signed a one-year, $1.3 million contract with the Mavs in July after it was discovered he had a dislocated toe on his left foot. The Mavs rescinded a three-year, $9 million free agent contract offer to Harris when the toe injury was dilsclosed.

The Mavs are counting on Harris, 30, to supply some veteran leadership at both guard spots behind point guard Jose Calderon and shooting guard Monta Ellis.

DALLAS -- He may be a few years from retirement, but Dirk Nowitzki was asked Monday if he would ask Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban if he could purchase a piece of the Mavs once the talented forward retires.

"I haven't really thought about that, but he better give me a job in some capacity, I know that,'' Nowitzki said admist a lot of laughter from the media assembled at American Airlines Center. "I know that, after all these years.

"I’m not sure, but I’ll find my niche once it gets that far. But for now I still feel like I can play acouple more years, so we’ll get into all that once it gets closer.''

Nowitzki, 35, has played his entire 15-year career with the Mavs and is the team's all-time leading scorer with 25,051 points.

September 27, 2013

DALLAS -- Some of the successful tactics Gersson Rosas used over the past four seasons with the Houston Rockets’ National Basketball Association Development League affiliate will now be implemented with the Dallas Mavericks.

In addition to his duties as the vice-president of basketball operations for the Rockets, Rosas worked the last four years as the general manager of the Rio Grand Valley Vipers -– the D-League affiliate of the Rockets. The Vipers won the D-League championship in 2010 and last season, and also advanced to the ’11 Finals.

Rosas is hoping for similar success with the Texas Legends -- the Mavs’ Frisco-based D-League affiliate -- and of course with the Mavs. After all, Rosas is in his first season as the Mavs’ general manager, and helping developing players has always been a huge part of his glowing resume.

“Player development in the NBA is the area that you have most control over,’’ Rosas said. “The resources you put in, the programs you structure and the support that you give your players and staff, that was one of the building blocks of my success not only with the Vipers and Houston, but in our industry.

“I thought last year was the greatest year of the D-League and it’s a very important tool that we’re going to use here in Dallas as well. It’s not just about winning and losing, it’s about developing players, it’s about developing coaches, and it’s about developing the staff.’’

For Rosas, the development also includes the young players on the Mavs’ roster.

“We had a good partnership with the owners of the (Vipers) in South Texas, and we were in a situation where we were fortunate that we had a lot of success,’’ Rosas said. “And that happens when the NBA team and the minor league team are on the same page and they’re working together --you’re able to do great things.

“We led the league in call-ups, we were in the Finals three out of four years, and to win two championships there was very fulfilling. And to help guys in the NBA, whether it's players, coaches, trainers, staff, it’s a development league, and to be a part of it to me was one of my passions,because that’s key.’’

September 25, 2013

DALLAS -- Gersson Rosas has only officially been on the clock as the new general manager of the Dallas Mavericks for just 56 days. But he quickly had to make one very important adjustment.

Rosas had recently worked as the vice-president of basketball operations for the Houston Rockets. In his duties with Houston he helped the Rockets sign top-notched free agent center Dwight Howard -- a key piece who the Mavs also heavily recruited -- this past July.

But in a short period of time, Rosas had to switch hats -- from the Rockets' red to the Mavs' blue.

"I’m already wearing the Mavs blue and feeling like a Maverick,'' Rosas said. "I’ve got the red out of my system.''

September 24, 2013

DALLAS -- Don't look for Jackie Carmichael to be in the Dallas Mavericks' training camp next week.

Not that the Mavs don't like the 6-9, 240-pound undrafted rookie free agent power forward from Illinois State.

Carmichael starred on the Mavs' summer league team in Las Vegas this past July, as the Mavs were thrilled with his physical, attacking style of play. But one thing happened to Carmichael and the Mavs en route to the negotiating table.

"Unfortunately, I think financially he was looking for a good opportunity overseas,'' new Mavs general manager Gersson Rosas said Tuesday. "So that’s why we couldn’t get him here, but we tried.

"We talked to his agent and unfortunately he had some good opportunities (overseas). But he's a great kid.''

Carmichael wound up signing with Bilbao Basket in Spain on Sept. 10, leaving the Mavs to wonder about the big one that got away.

"We had a guy in Houston in Chuck Hayes, and I thought (Carmichael and Hayes) were very similar in their approach and their style,'' Rosas said. "They've got everything stacked up against them and they find a way to do it, which you always want to root for guys like that.

"But we like (Carmichael), too. I thought he did well in the summer league.''